


Before Her Disappearance

by mermay



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, amberprice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 04:45:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14804613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mermay/pseuds/mermay
Summary: Rachel Amber's disappearance was a gruesome event. The moments leading up to it were worse. Especially for Chloe Price.





	1. Chapter 1

"Chloe... remember all the times we planned to leave this place? Truly leave?" Rachel's voice was dominant in the quiet night of the junkyard. This was the place Rachel and Chloe had spent many nights together, so desperate for an escape, the partial structure of the building had become a sanctuary for the both of them. Really, they became eachothers safehaven. Chloe pondered this silently, her eyes flickering to Rachel's face before she replied. 

"Of course I do. Does it look like I would forget something as important as leaving Arcadia Bay in the dust?" While Chloe's sarcastic remarks would usually reward her with either a stunning smile or infectious laugh, all she got was a sigh and a frown. Rachel sat up in frustration, holding her face in her hands.

"That's almost always what you say. Chloe, how long has it been since we met?" Her voice hinted at frustration, but the notion went over Chloe's head as she replied.  
"About... nearly a year and a half. I don't understand-" 

"A year and a half." Rachel cut Chloe off in a voice dripping with acid, her fingernails curling dangerously into her face.

"I think so- look, I don't know the exact date. Are you getting sentimental on me?"  
Rachel let out a deep, exasperated sigh.

"That is such bullshit and you know it, Chloe. How long are we going to sit around on our asses waiting for an opportunity that doesn't exist?" Rachel's voice held such a sharp and bitter tone that it resembled more of a physical attack rather than verbal. Chloe wasn't, had never been, the kind of person to allow others to push her around. Yet, somehow, Rachel was capable of reducing her into a worn out Welcome mat. Just another step. 

"Isn't that what's always holding us back? What you always say? Not the right time, we aren't ready yet?" Rachel turned away, her fists clenched tightly. Chloe finally spoke up, albeit hesitatingly.

"But we aren't. And it is too soon-"

"Too soon for who?" Rachel whipped back around, her eyes filled with a mix of determination, anger, and spite. "Because it certainly isn't me. And honestly, I'm not surprised. I always suspected that you would back out. So, listen to me, Chloe Price. I am not letting your cowardice drag me down with you. I'm leaving this shitty ass town, with or without you." Rachel didn't skip a beat. Immediately after she finished her speech, her attention was entirely focused on storing her items into her duffel bag, preparing to leave. However, the statements left Chloe speechless, breathless. The spell broke as Rachel marched toward the exit, carting her possessions. 

"Rachel, wait!" Chloe chased after her with the feeling of her heart dropping into her stomach. "Rachel. Please. I know we have- I know I have issues, but please don't leave me like this. I need you. I..." her voice tattered off as she realized the girl in front of her was standing completely still, like a statue. It almost made Chloe jump when she spoke.

"That's funny... because I don't need you." Turning around, Rachel's face was completely emotionless as she continued on, voice low and monotone. 

"There's so much about me that you don't know, Chloe. Really, you're so fucking clueless, its sad." She turned her face away, staring off into the distance of the junkyard. 

"You think you know everything about me, but you don't. I wish... I wish I could tell you." Finally breaking character, her voice wavered. Chloe was still in shock, but reached out a hand to comfort the girl that seemed to be changing- morphing- right in front of her. Rachel took a step back.

"But I can't. Not now." Her voice was hardly a whisper when she finished talking, and she started to take steps backward.

"But..." Somehow, Chloe felt numb. As she was, she felt she was watching a movie. Watching something entirely removed from herself. It couldn't be real. It couldn't. 

"Goodbye, Chloe." Her departing words felt simultaneously like a kiss and a slap. When Chloe finally looked up again, the other girl had disappeared completely. 

What happened didn't hit her until she had retreated and fell back down onto the worn mattress inside the semishelter. By then, tears streamed down Chloe's face while an indescribable emotion crept under her skin. Fear? Depression? Loneliness? Anger? Perhaps it was a mixing pot of all of them, but it didn't matter. Sobs racked her body until the crying was overtook by whines of pain into a pillow that smelled distinctly of a girl she would lay down her life for. Really, Chloe already had.


	2. The Morning After

If Chloe was honest with herself, she couldn't pretend that she hadn't noticed any previous warning signs to the sporadic behavior Rachel exhibited the previous night. Really, there had been many. Random bouts of anger or depression, snapping at the smallest things, and often staring off into the distance had began to be common to Rachel. This didn't mean Chloe hadn't made attempts to discover the underlying issues. She made several. Nearly every notion toward any possible issues were either ignored or met with heightened aggression. So, Chloe decided to give her space. Apparently, she made the wrong choice.

When Chloe awakened in the junkyard, her first realization was that she was alone. The familiar shape and smell of Rachel, gone. Her second realization was that she had stayed away from home over night without texting Joyce, and more important to her survival, David. She stretched out and sighed, her body sore from crying the previous night. Damn it, she thought silently. Chloe would have to face her dickhead of a step dad with puffy eyes. Not that it'd make him go easy on her. 

"Maybe he'll accuse me of being high and raid my room for drugs again," Chloe muttered quietly to herself, a sarcastic grin spreading across her face. Automatically, she reached for her phone, ready to calculate how much damage control she would have to perform. However, the first thing she tapped on was Rachel's contact. 

Nothing. No calls or messages, not even a one word text. Even something as small as "Sorry" or "Hey" would have relieved Chloe. Regardless, she couldn't resist going into her first round of spam.

C:   
rachel   
please don't ignore me  
hey?  
im sorry ok?  
i know its not what u want to hear but we arent ready  
we dont even have enough money to pay for gas to go a town over

Finished yet unsatisfied, she decided to wait and see if Rachel would reply. If not, she had plenty more to say.

A quick look through her notifications told her she was in trouble. Deep shit. Calls and text messages from both Joyce and David, equaling out, in total, over thirty of her notifications. One of her best friends, Steph, had also texted her, but a glance at the message showed it was fueled by her parents. Shit.

Once fully awake, Chloe headed out and drove home. The ride gave her plenty of thinking time. She always knew Rachel to be impulsive, sometimes incredibly so, and although Chloe dissed Arcadia Bay to the same length as her more-than-just best friend- she didn't maintain the same desperate need to leave immediately and nearly disappear from the town altogether. In a way, it made Chloe feel pathetic and cowardly. She hoped Rachel didn't feel the same way. Yet, the words she had said echoes through her head.

"I don't need you." 

Chloe relied on Rachel's impulsive behavior in the hopes that the words she spoke had merely been from her overwhelming anger and passion and nothing more. She could be like that. No matter the intention, though, the voice she used- uncaring, seething- it hurt. Every one of their little fights caused Chloe pain, the kind that dug into her heart.  Nonetheless, she would forgive immediately. Never had she felt such deep love and understanding for another person in her life. And she believed with all her heart Rachel wouldn't take advantage of it.

Pulling into the driveway of her home, Chloe prayed to every God she could think of. Maybe the more the merrier, like a point multiplier system. It didn't take long for her to drop this idea, seeing the front door wide open, a tall and intimidating David standing in the entryway. 

"We have a lot to talk about, young lady. This has gone on long enough." His voice was deep and strict, loud enough that Chloe swore that the entire block could hear him. She grinded her teeth angrily, standing on the porch with her eyes locked on her own combat boots. 

Her refusal to speak when spoken to was enough insubordination to piss her step father off. 

"Now listen here-" He was interrupted quicker than usual, and the hand he had begun to reach toward Chloe's arm was forced back down.

"That's enough for now, David." Joyce's voice sounded entirely exhausted, almost like she hasn't slept. A large pang of guilt hit Chloe, but she used this as an excuse to slip past David and make it inside the privacy of her home. 

"Joyce, she needs punishment, and she needs to acknowledge that there are rules around here. That need to be reinforced." This time, Joyce gave the tiniest of head nods. Chloe had been trying to keep her mouth shut and avoid worse consequences, but everything about David rubbed her the wrong way, and she lashed back quickly.

"Are you just going to let him take control of everything? I can't believe you moved on from dad for this pri-" The words hadn't fully escaped Chloe's mouth before the back of David's hand met her cheek. Stunned, she stood there with a hand holding her face, unwanted tears automatically welling in her eyes. What was worse? A glance at her mother showed pure disappointment. No response to what David had just done. 

"Chloe... I've tried to be patient with you. I've tried to give you space, to give you freedom to feel your pain. And I've been sympathetic to you so far. But... You've taken advantage of it. You can't keep doing this forever, hanging onto this... hanging onto William this way." Joyce paused, a faraway look crossing her features. Worry not, for David decided it was his turn.

"Your actions have caused enough pain to your mother and this family. There are going to be rules followed or major punishments will be handed out. The first is a curfew. If you're not home between nine thirty and ten without a text or call promising to be home soon, it'll be an immediate grounding." David paused, looking at Joyce with an expression that urged her to finish.

She confirmed the jail sentence shortly, staring Chloe directly in the eyes. "I'm so tired of this, Chloe. I don't want this for you. William wouldn't have wanted this a for you."

Chloe felt a sharp stab in her heart, and through the spiteful tears that ran down her cheeks, she hissed "William wouldn't have even dared to think about slapping me." Then she charged up the stairs, slamming her door hard enough to feel the vibration through her feet.


	3. One Hell Of An Afternoon

It took Chloe a decent amount of pacing and racing thoughts to finally calm down from the commotion of the family conflict. With how often it happened, it was an honest surprise that she hadn't gotten used to it. Maybe it would impact differently if all the fights were just between her mom and David instead of her individually. Chloe contemplated this idea as she sat on her bed, shaking fingers retrieving a cigarette and lighter.

Disappointment began to sink into her bones as she felt cold tears stream down her face. Just another opportunity to prove how weak she was. in an attempt to distract her mind, Chloe slid her phone out of her pocket, only to stare at herself in the screen, hating what she saw. She shook her head roughly, if only she could shake herself out. By instinct, and before Chloe could stop herself, she opened up the texts between her and her only close friend before the mess of Chloe's life really began- Max. In reality, it was just her own desperate chain of messages, one way communication going no where. Max had left and kept Chloe with Arcadia Bay. Something of the past and had no need to be revisisted.

So, Chloe exited and began to talk to someone she hoped would never apply to the Abandon Chloe Price Club.

C:  
rachel i know youre upset  
but we r supposed to work through things together  
idk if you meant the things you said at the junkyard  
either way i understand  
please at least tell me what you actually feel i dont think i can handle another person i love dropping off the face of the earth  
esp with the shit thats going down at home right now

Loud voices downstairs pulled Chloe out of her concentration, at first unintelligible until she carefully snuck over by her door to have a better chance to hear bits and pieces of what was being said. It took her a couple seconds to be able to process more than just yelling.

Altogether, the broken fragments of the conversation she was able to compile included "Unacceptable", "she's my daughter", "disciplinary lessons", "ever lay a hand on her", and "not war anymore". The shock was enough to force Chloe into a completely unmoving state for a couple minutes even after silence had settled back into the household. During the time David had started coming around, Joyce's support and defense for Chloe had gradually dwindled as he stuck around. Presumably to keep the peace, even at the expense of her own daughter. Hearing Joyce make straight forward and clear words of protection made Chloe's mood lift slightly. Not significantly. While the two may fight, they need each other, whether or not it was for healthy reasons. And David was too stuck in his ways to ever change for anybody. 

Once out of her frozen state, Chloe checked her phone again, albeit lacking much hope. To her surprise, the screen contained notifications from Rachel. 

Rach:

chloe?  
shit  
listen im sorry. im so sorry. what i did and what i said was fucked up  
youre seriously my best friend and i dont want to lose you either  
we should see each other and talk about this  
junkyard later tonight after our parents r asleep?

Chloe made a small, happy noise of excitement, quickly filling Rachel in.

C:  
thank god i thought id never hear from u after everything ystrday  
and its ok we can talk abt it like always  
and damn actually we cant  
david grilled my case n if im out too late im done for  
so no junkyard

After the scene from the day before, it made Chloe nervous to reject anything Rachel said. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when more texts came through.

Rach:  
looks like we gotta be even more careful bout our SUPER secret affair together  
SIGH... how are we supposed to dance together in the moonlight? what about all our missed candlelit dinners?  
ok ok but actually i have a plan

C:  
do enlighten me

And Rachel did, in the form of a proposition linking a status from FaceBook. Specifically, a status from Victoria Chase. Chloe snickered to herself. If Victoria was having an exclusive party, she would probably do well to not post about it publicly. 

C:  
damn best idea yet  
ill be waiting 

Luckily, Rachel had accessibility to a car and could make the trip there for the pickup. Chloe, assuming the silence from downstairs meant both her parents had left for work and that it would be easy to make an escape, headed downstairs to get a snack before heading out. She searched through the fridge and produced an apple, but before she can bite into the much needed fruit, Chloe felt the gentle pressure of a hand on her shoulder. To soft and small to be David's. But that didn't make Joyce any less of a traitor for teaming up with the piss poor example of a father figure. Chloe turned quickly to face her mother. Joyce's face still had remnants of the disappointment she held for Chloe, but a different emotion had replaced the coldness. Genuine concern and care. Regardless of whether Chloe wanted to, she felt herself soften at the sight.

"Mom... Aren't you going to be late to work?" It was a poor way of attempting to direct attention to anywhere but the recent altercation, and Joyce didn't buy into it for a second, letting out an airy sigh.

"I know you aren't going to stay home, Chloe. I can't force you to, and I'm not going to let David cross the boundaries he wants that will kick you up at home. I know that won't fix anything either." She paused and gave her daughter a meaningful look, trying to communicate that she was trying to understand. Then, a look of anger as she continued speaking.

"David will never lay another hand on you like he did today. If he does... Well, we got along without... Anyone but us for a while, and we could again." This was something new. Chloe had never heard Joyce talk this way about David or the arrangement of his living there. Then again, it was also new for David to begin physically punishing her. Especially right in front of her mom. These implications almost made Chloe brighten up, but as Joyce continued, any semblance of a better mood was stomped out before it began.

" But... Chloe, you provoke him. And you do it intentionally. Some things, yes, he has no right to do. But some things he has a reason for. It's nearly like you want to upset him. You can't really blame... " she couldn't stand to hear another word coming out of her mother's mouth. Chloe felt she didn't need to explain herself, either. Not to someone who didn't truly care. A glance at her phone proved Rachel should be ready outside by then. 

"Fine. I'm sure he has a reason for everything. Better yet, you keep making them for him." She started toward the door while talking, fists tightly clenched. 

" Chloe! Please. Just listen... " Joyce trailed off, realizing her daughter was going to leave regardless of what she said at that point. Quickly she picked back up.

"I took a day off from the diner. I'll be home. Please, Chloe. If nothing else, please return by your curfew." She had nothing else to say, and by her last word Chloe had slammed the door shut. Gone.

The sight of Rachel's car made a small smile appear on her face, a distraction from the mess of her home life. Chloe's main comfort, outlet, and excitement. At that moment, she even forgot about the previous night and all the nasty words that were said. They would make up and have an amazing afternoon and night together. They had to.


End file.
